American National Bank v. Touche Ross & Co.

In Scioto Mem. Hosp. Assn., Inc. v. Price Waterhouse (1996), 74 Ohio St.3d 474, 659 N.E.2d 1268, syllabus, decided today, we held that comparative negligence applies to cases involving accountant negligence. In so doing, we rejected the National Surety rule (which in point of fact we had never actually espoused). The rule of National Surety bars the presentation of evidence of a client’s negligence, by an accountant defendant, unless the client’s negligence contributed to the accountant’s negligent audit or interfered with the accountant’s audit. See Natl. Sur. Corp. v. Lybrand (1939), 256…